


clean slate

by busanboi



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: 2min!!, :-), Alcohol, Childhood Friends, Clubbing, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Non-Graphic Violence, Slow Burn, Strangers to Lovers, pls enjoy, theyre both the same age in this au, what do u put in tags tbh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-12
Updated: 2021-01-21
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:42:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28024914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/busanboi/pseuds/busanboi
Summary: Kim Seungmin recognises Lee Minho.Unfortunately, Minho doesn't recognise Seungmin. At all.And Seungmin wants it to stay that way.
Relationships: Kim Seungmin/Lee Minho | Lee Know
Comments: 23
Kudos: 108





	1. silence.

**Author's Note:**

> hello!!11!! i'm sorta back????? i've also apparently got myself into this skz hole since god's menu era.. help i love them somuch :( i especially love love loveee 2min <3 there aren't enough 2min fics and we need to change that!!!!!!!!! this is also inspired by the one and only, song of the century, Wow by Danceracha. i've been on a wow brainrot this whole month i hope u enjoy reading this as much as i enjoyed writing it!!! take care and enjoy~ https://youtu.be/SZ0v0iSoDzM
> 
> -busanboi

Heavy EDM music blasts from the jumbo speakers on stage. Flashing neon lights as bright as though it could blind. A bunch of drunk strangers, grinding against each other on beat while holding red plastic cups of God knows what.

Kim Seungmin didn't belong here. He knew that. But he couldn't help it. He knew he had to do something once his weekend routine of watching Netflix alone in bed at night became consistent. 

Unfortunately, he didn't know _what_ to do. He didn't know how to act around people, heck he couldn't even talk to them. It just wasn't his thing. He was a homebody and he knew that.

 _What's the worst that could happen?_ , he thought to himself as he got ready to go to the local club. _Everything_ , he thinks to himself now, regretting his bold decision as he walks up to the bar.

"Give me your strongest drink. Something to wash away the pain and forget everything." he says to the bartender.  
"Rough day?" the bartender asks as he whips up something that Seungmin has never seen before. He's a bad drinker so he doesn't really know other drinks apart from beer, vodka or wine.

Seungmin nods feebly and slumps down on one of the wooden stool chairs in front of the bar.

"Hey." 

A cool voice greets Seungmin for the first time that night. He froze in his tracks, not being able to turn around to reply to the stranger. A cool voice that sounds oddly familiar.

 _It can't be... no._ Is it really who he thinks it is?

Seungmin manages to twist his whole body halfway to greet the other person. His eyes widened as he saw who it was.

Everything stopped moving as Seungmin stared at the man before him. Silence. Everything stops moving the moment his eyes met the stranger's eyes. Everyone around Seungmin faded out except _him._

 _Lee Minho._ High school's sweetheart, Lee Minho. High school's favourite jock, Lee Minho. Kim Seungmin's long-term crush throughout high school, _Lee Minho._

Seungmin used to be the opposite of Minho. Naturally, since Minho was a huge soccer jock, Seungmin was a loser. That one kid who always stayed in during recess to read, who had no friends, who couldn't even kick a ball because of how uncoordinated he was. Yeah, that was Seungmin. 

A person like Minho would never even look twice in Seungmin's direction. Not that Seungmin minded. He _knew_ that Minho was way out of his league. But that didn't stop him from liking Minho. Oh Seungmin liked Minho a lot.

"I've never seen you around before. Are you not from here?" Minho nonchalantly asked, breaking Seungmin out of his flashback bubble.

Did Minho not recognise him? Confusion overtook Seungmin. Yeah he was a loser of course but Minho and Seungmin has been in the same classes. Multiple times. Mainly because Seungmin checked Minho's schedule every semester so he could take the same classes as him. That's far from the point though. How did Minho not know who he was?

"Uh.. well. Yeah I just moved here. Like last week." Seungmin blurted out. 

It's been years and Minho still has that effect on Seungmin. Goddamn it he was beautiful. That's what made everything so frustrating.

Minho then laughed, the most beautiful laugh Seungmin has ever heard.

"That's so cool! It's nice to see a new face around here. I've basically lived here my whole life. Seoul is not as fun as others say, believe me", Minho grabbed a wooden stool chair and scooted closer to Seungmin, catching him off guard he almost fell.

Minho grabbed Seungmin's shirt, saving him from embarrassment. Actually no he didn't because now Seungmin's even more embarrassed. He just wants to dig a hole into the ground and crawl in there.

"Did I scare you? I was kidding! Please enjoy your stay here, I'm sure you'll enjoy it. Had too much to drink already eh?," Minho chuckles just as the bartender puts Seungmin's finished drink on the counter. "Could I have what he's having? And put them both on me, I'll pay for his too." The bartender nodded and proceeded to make Minho's drink.

Seungmin blinked repeatedly, not believing the scene before him. Lee Minho is buying him a drink. What the fuck is going on?

Minho turned back to Seungmin, grinning sheepishly, probably rethinking his action just now.

"Too soon? I'm sorry I got excited just now and acted impulsively. I also did that in hopes that you would keep talking to me?" He said it like a question, completely taking Seungmin off guard yet again. Fortunately he's much more stable and didn't fall to the ground.

"No no! You're... you're good. Thank you." Seungmin blushed and looked away, dying of embarrassment. It's so fucking hot in here, _that's_ why he was sweating profusely.

Minho grinned, punching his fist in the air as an act of triumph.

Seungmin watched in awe, mentally hitting himself for thinking that he's cute.

No. This was wrong. He feels that what he's doing is wrong. Minho didn't even know who he was, well, didn't recognise, while he knows exactly who Minho was. It just wasn't fair.

Minho should have recognised him. Of course he should have, especially after... what happened between them.

"So, what did you say your name was?" Minho questioned, obviously expecting an answer. Seungmin knew that he should tell him. He knew that it was the right thing to do.

"Oh.. I didn't..." Seungmin's voice lingered off but he had no intention to continue talking. "Actually, it's getting late now, I should get back home." 

Seungmin jumped off the wooden stool, ready to make a run for it.

"Hey, wait! You didn't even finish your drink." Seungmin turned back to Minho, taking a glance at his untouched drink. Okay. He'll go after his drink.

Seungmin downed the whole glass, or at least, attempted to. As soon as the burning liquid hit his throat, he coughed and spluttered it all out, spraying his drink everywhere. This night could not get any worse. 

"What exactly did you order?" Minho asked taking a whiff of Seungmin's now half empty cup. He winced as the smell of mixed various alcohol filled his nose.

Minho helped Seungmin up to his feet, dabbing a dry cloth at Seungmin's clothes. Where did he even get that?

"I keep a spare handkerchief on me at all times in case of emergencies like _this_." Minho laughed half-heartedly as though he had read Seungmin's thoughts.

Seungmin's head was spinning, he was barely able to stand up. Was it the alcohol? He dismissed that thought as he remembered that he didn't consume a single drop of it.

No. It was... the man before him. This beautiful man who made him feel so much things at once. Lee Minho.

"Are you okay? Would you like to go home? I could take you back if you want." Minho asked with a genuinely worried look on his face.

Seungmin didn't want to make things worse so he shook his head, indicating that it was okay.

"That's okay, I'm perfectly fine! My place isn't even that far, don't worry. Thank you for tonight, really. I had... fun." Seungmin wasn't lying when he said that. He did have fun. In a way. Despite all the bad things that happened, tonight definitely beats spending another night of scrolling through Netflix mindlessly on his own. 

At least Seungmin had company tonight. He smiled at Minho and thanked him again before taking off into the night and out of the club.

Seungmin walked briskly, hoping to outwalk Minho. 

"Hey! Wait up! Please."

He apparently forgot that Minho was super athletic. _Curse him and his jock features._ he thought to himself.

Seungmin stopped walking and waited for the other man catching up to him. There was no point in pretending not to hear him, he supposed.

"I apologise for what happened back there. In a way, it is kind of my fault. Please forgive me by letting me take you out. Tomorrow?"

Seungmin was stunned. He could not believe what he was hearing. No because what the actual fuck is Minho even saying? Does he seriously not remember who he was?

"I.." 

"Please? Just one day, that's all I'm asking. I'll totally stop bugging you after that. I promise!" Minho stuck his pinky out, gesturing for Seungmin to link pinkies with himself.

Seungmin looked at his pinky finger and contemplated. Well, he did say he was going to stop bugging him after...

"Okay. I'll go out with you."

What's the worst that could happen?


	2. confused.

Seungmin paced back and forth in his small apartment, completely bothered by his sudden encounter with Minho an hour ago.

12:38 A.M. He was going to try and sleep it off the moment he arrived home, tired and confused. Unfortunately he couldn't stop thinking about it which then resulted with him not being able to sleep it off. 

Surely that wasn't the Lee Minho he knew. Could it be?

Seungmin is 22 years old. Minho should be 22 too. Roughly calculating, it should have been five years since they last met each other. _It hasn't been_ that _long since I last saw him, he couldn't have forgotten me already?_

Wait a minute. Was it because he _looked_ different? Seungmin pondered over this thought countless times before running into the attic to find something. After much patience and clouds of dust later, he finally found what he was looking for. His high school yearbook. 

Flipping through the crusty old book where the pages have yellowed, his heart beats were so erratic he could have sworn he felt it hammering at his ribcage. 

There it was. _Kim Seungmin, Class President._ A 17 year old Seungmin was beaming into the camera, braces on and big round glasses framed his eyes. He had to admit that he did look different. But still. It was the same old Seungmin behind those glasses and brace bearing teeth.

Besides his own picture was another familiar face. _Lee Minho, Class Jock._ Minho hasn't changed at all. He's still the same cheeky flirt from before, just more defined and definitely, much more hotter. Seungmin could feel himself blushing the longer he stared.

Shaking himself out of his daydream, he flipped to the back of the book, where the signature page was.

He sighed as he skimmed through this page. There wasn't much to see as he only had a few friends. Suddenly, something caught his eye. Right there, at the corner of the page was a small signature paired with scrawly handwriting. His eyes widened as he read that small note over and over again.

"stay cool!!! lets keep in touch after this..." - lee minho ☆

How could he forget about this one signature? Unless.. he was trying to forget it.

A painful memory was etched on the inside of his mind. He _was_ trying to forget it. He was trying to forget Minho all this time.

As much as he liked Minho, he thought that he'd never forgive himself for letting Minho almost ruin his life.

* * *

_2015_

The school bell rang, a sign that it was the last day of high school for 11th graders.

Seungmin gathered up all his books and stationery, putting them away in his backpack neatly. He zipped it up and was thinking about going home as soon as possible. His classmates were all buzzing about, excited about ending their high school life already. Most of them stayed back to ask others for their signatures on their yearbook. 

Seungmin didn't have many close friends to run around with and sign each other's yearbooks. He was looking forward to someone's signature though. 

Minho's hair bobbed up and down as he was jumping up and down excitedly. Seungmin watched from afar and thought to himself how lucky it would be to live the life as Lee Minho. He was contemplating on asking for Minho's signature but thought better of it and walked out the classroom.

 _Not taking any risks, I don't want to embarrass myself in front of his cool friends._ Seungmin thought to himself.

"Hey! Wait up!" Seungmin froze as someone with a voice cool as ice called out.

Was his ears deceiving him?

"Yo, Kim Seungmin! Yeah you." Holy shit.

Seungmin turned around and was met with none other than Minho. Super cool, super hot, Minho.

"We're in physics together, right? Yeah I thought I recognised the back of your head, seeing as you always sit way up front." Minho chuckled to himself, obviously amused with the fact that he acknowledged where Seungmin sat.

Seungmin stared in awe. Lee... Lee fucking Minho knows he exist. He _knows._ Seungmin could feel his cheeks heating up as he shyly nodded, answering Minho's question.

"Cool! I don't think I signed your yearbook yet. May I?" Minho held out his pen, eager to sign it already.

Seungmin could not believe his ears. He was over the moon and he didn't even have to _ask._

"S-sure! Let me take it out of my bag real quick."

Seungmin was shaking so hard he almost dropped his whole backpack. Luckily, he got out his yearbook successfully and handed it to Minho.

Minho grinned and started scribbling something at the corner of Seungmin's yearbook signature page.

"Done! We should hang out sometime yeah? See-" Minho stopped, mid-sentence as he heard a couple of footsteps walking towards their direction.

"Hey Minho! We're going out to grab something to eat, you coming?" It was Minho's jock friends, of course they were looking for him.

Minho seemed to step further back, almost deliberately trying to hide Seungmin out of sight of his friends' eyes. Was it embarrassing for Minho to be caught talking to him?

His friends came closer and spotted Seungmin anyways.

"Bro, what are you doing talking to the class pres? He's a fucking loser!"

_Loser. That's what Seungmin was._

Minho looked back at Seungmin, with an expression quite unreadable. Was it guilt? Disgust? Seungmin was confused. One minute he was on cloud nine, happy the person of his dreams actually talked to him. The next, said person of his dreams is about to crush his dreams, not make it.

"Nah I was just picking on him guys, don't worry. I wouldn't be caught dead talking to him. Wait up!" Minho dropped Seungmin's yearbook and ran off with his friends.

What the fuck just happened? Seungmin didn't know what to do. He didn't know how to react. Until his own body reacted for him and hot tears started streaming from his eyes. He picked up his yearbook and ran away, not knowing where he was going.

He was never going to forgive Minho. Never.

* * *

Seungmin's heart broke remembering that awful memory. No, he couldn't trust Minho. So what if it's been five years and he could have changed? He still hurt him. 

The childishness in him begged to come out as he started being petty for something that should have been forgotten ages ago. But he just couldn't bring himself to do it. Minho hurt him and he won't ever forget that.

So why doesn't Minho remember him? This only infuriates Seungmin more.

Seungmin falls back onto the bed, groaning after he remembered the pinky promise he made. 

_Now I have to go out with his mean ass despite him not remembering what he did to me. Fuck this._

Seungmin stared at both of his hands, bringing them up in front of his face. He also just remembered that Minho gave him his number, written on his palm (in the same scrawly handwriting).

Maybe he should text him, just to cancel out on their date.

* * *

**seungmin:** hello?  


**minho:** hi. who is this?  


**seungmin:** oh. it's bar guy. the one who just moved to seoul.

 **minho:** OH OMGGG HEYYYY :D!! i thought u weren't going to text me :(

Goddamn this guy and his cute emoticons.

 **seungmin:** yeah about that.. i just texted you to let you know that i may not be able to make it for tomorrow. sorry.

 **minho:** wait WHAT??? why!!

 **seungmin:** just found out that i'm not free tomorrow..

 **seungmin:** really sorry..

 **minho:** well, thats ok!! could we reschedule the date?

Does he never quit? Seungmin stared at his phone screen, confused.

 **seungmin:** i don't think so.. look, please don't take this the wrong way but. i don't think i'll be able to meet you like ever. under any circumstances. goodbye and have a great night. sorry for bothering you so late at night.

**_minho is typing..._ **

**minho:** at least could u tell me ur name?

**_read by seungmin at 1:23 A.M._ ******

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok so i SAID that i'd be updating by this week but i got so excited writing this chapter!!! i STILL think its kinda short and i apologise for that ;__; but pls bear with meeeee you're gonna get minho's pov in the next chapter :DD kudos and comments are appreciated <333 
> 
> -busanboi


	3. time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> disclaimer!! just to clear things up, seungmin's POV will be capitalised at the start of each sentence while minho's POV will be in all lower case letters. happy reading!!!! <333 comments and kudos are always appreciated :D

minho laid back on his bed, sighing with content to himself. he just couldn't stop thinking about _him_. the boy who just moved to seoul whom he happened to bump into at the local club. minho was obsessed with everything about him, despite their first meeting and not even knowing his own name. 

there was just something different about the boy, a very interesting type of different that appealed to minho very much. you could say minho was infatuated with the boy.

rereading the last text club boy sent him, he switched his phone off and decided to mope around. he was devastated club boy had other plans. devastated was an understatement. he was _destroyed_. he could actually feel his heart shattering.

clearly not having any of it, minho decides to text him a question.

"at least could u tell me ur name?" well, it was more as a plead of desperation than a question but he was hopeful.

seeing the words **_read by Club Boy <3 at 1:23 A.M._** displayed on his phone screen, minho gave up.

 _was it something i said? i tried so hard to impress him though..._ minho's thoughts raced around his lovestruck mind. it started making his head (as well as his heart) hurt. no. he wasn't going to give up. 

minho switched his phone back to life, scrolling through his applications then finally clicking on the desired one. instagram. at first, he searched the club's location in the search engine, hoping so hard that he would find _something_. 

nothing. _guess he's not a social person,_ minho said to himself. rationally speaking, that was good news for minho in the future! at least he knows that no one will be able to steal him away from minho. the downside of it all was that it made things extremely hard for him to find information on club boy. 

wait. twitter. he should at least be active on twitter or own an account. _everyone_ is on it, even the most introverted person in the world. we all need a digital diary to let out our feelings. 

feeling giddy, minho frantically opened the application. he was so excited his hands started shaking, a goofy grin plastered on his face. 

_what should i search?_ minho had no idea to be honest. he had no name, no interest of his that he could use as a keyword. god damnit. 

unless... he searched the club's location again? 

trying his luck, he carefully typed in the location, checking thrice to see if he's misspelled anything. 

minho felt like he was getting too dramatic as he was excited to find club boy online. _you gotta keep your cool minho... he's just a boy. and so are you._ minho knew he was thinking nonsensical things as he started talking to himself. 

he shook his head and pressed search. scrolling through many tweets, he finally got to yesterday's tweets. and there it was. _club boy_. or should he say, twitter user @seungmin_kim? hold on. 

_kim seungmin? physics genius, kim seungmin?_

minho read @seungmin_kim's tweet many times. he read that one tweet too much times as his eyes started to give up and blur against him. 

**Seungmin 🐾**

**@seungmin_kim**

**fancy meeting a familiar face here. it was nice to see you.**

minho couldn't believe what he was seeing. he still couldn't believe it as he scrolled through his media. 

_this couldn't be seungmin. no. it's clearly not him, he looks so different. this is probably a different seungmin._

could someone change so much in a few years? how long has it been anyways? minho shook his head, going through seungmin's tweets, likes and photos. after every swipe and scroll, he became more worried. no _wonder_ he doesn't want to meet minho. no fucking wonder. 

minho decides to accept the cold hard truth that's literally sitting right under his nose. he just flirted with his old schoolmate. a very cute schoolmate who he always looked up to. but then decided to embarrass him on the last day of school, basically fucking up everything between them. yeah, _that_ schoolmate. 

he put down his phone and laid down on his back once more, this time of despair and regret. 

if he was seungmin, he would never have wanted anything to do with minho. heck, he'd even wish minho bad luck all his life. minho punched himself in the face, regretting every single second that happened when during that last day of school. if he could turn back time, he'd redo every single thing. 

* * *

_2015_

minho ran up to his group of friends, leaving a very confused seungmin behind. 

"yeah, that's more like it minho! come on, we're all going to grab a burger and then head to the arcade." his friends shouted as they all ran ahead, excited to fill their brains with cheap burgers and fizzy cola to the brim. minho shook his head at them. all of them. 

he never wanted to be a part of this clique. he was only doing it since he was on the school team. and he wanted to _fit_ in. but that clearly backfired as fitting in wasn't as cool as he thought. 

"uh, you guys go ahead! i left my books behind, be right back!" without waiting for their answer, minho ran back inside the school building, desperate to find the person he left behind just now. 

he checked the corridor, their classroom and the last place they were at. seungmin was nowhere to be found. 

minho was starting to panic. he knew he fucked up big time. defeated and filled with so much anger towards himself, he walked out the backdoor for some fresh air to calm himself down. 

he started walking slowly, not knowing where he was going but instead letting his feet take him wherever they wanted to go. minho suddenly stopped in his tracks at the faint sound of... someone crying. behind a big oak tree. someone was crying. 

he hoped it wasn't who he thought it was. he didn't want that person to be there if anything. curious, he stepped closer to take a look. oh god. _seungmin._

seungmin was lying against that tree, sobbing his heart out. the hot tears streaming down his face broke minho's heart to pieces. _i am such. a fucking idiot._

he made someone cry. and it had to be seungmin of all people. someone he truly respected, someone he was attracted to. minho couldn't bring it in him to forgive himself for ever doing that. he was such a jerk. all this trouble just to fit in? what a fucking joke. 

minho stepped forward, reaching out his hand to go to seungmin. part of him wanted to go and apologise so bad, tell seungmin the truth about what actually happened back there. the other part, the majority of him told him to go away because an apology would be the last thing seungmin could ever want. seungmin probably didn't even want to face him right now. 

and that's what he did. he followed the latter and ran away, ran straight home. he knew he would regret it. but what else could he do? 

* * *

just thinking about it makes minho feel nauseous. he felt sick and all he wanted to do was punch himself for being such a dick. 

he couldn't possibly apologise now? after a few fucking years? seungmin would probably think of him as a joke if not, an even bigger dick than he was right now. 

now, minho knows that doing this, he could fuck up even more. but knowing himself? he's an expert at making bad decisions. 

**direct message sent to @seungmin_kim.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> omg hay <33 aaaa im so sorry for updating so late ;;; i was super caught up w shitty college and chasing deadlines T____T i hope most of u r still here :((( hehe so how was the update? im still learning on writing lengthy/wordier chapters so pls bear w me and lets go on this journey w me together :< pls comment if u have anything to say/want to talk abt the fic!! im all ears <33  
> -busanboi


	4. notice.

hello ;; ;;;; if you're still here and reading this, i'd like to thank you for staying <3 but i feel like i need to let this out first. i've been writing ever since i was around 15 years old and yea i've had a great progress and growth in my writing. i'm 20 now and i sorta left writing for awhile because i was in a bad place at the time being;; i've recently started writing again ever since i got into skz and i will forever b grateful for these wonderful boys :-(( now before i start rambling and making complete nonsense, disclaimer; this isn't the end of this fic!!! unfortunately i won't be updating clean slate for the time being as i realised that i shouldn't publish a wip until im 100% satisfied with it!!! tbh, this has been in my drafts for a long time and i wasn't getting anywhere with it But i still wanted to post it- therefore clean slate was born. i actually wanted to delete this whole fic and just leave it like that but then i saw how many kudos u guys left and all ur comments still make my heart warm til this day :-( i am so super grateful for all of u :( i swear ;; so i didn't want to feel like a complete dick and just leave u all sooo i have some good news tooo ^___^ i will be revamping clean slate completely!! starting from scratch, though it will probably take awhile since i want it to be a good enough read for all of you to enjoy <3 i hope you guys are patient and will wait for me, i'll try not to let u guys down :-( i really really am excited to see minho and seungmin's progress :D!! and last of all, i apologise for making you all wait :-( please look forward to the new and improved clean slate!! 

\- busanboi


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